No matter your religious beliefs or cultural background, we all mourn our lost loved ones. When remembering the departed, we can all be ‘haunted’ by ghosts and specters of memories. Some people are so bereaved that they erect elaborate statues for tombstones. The details and symbolism on headstones are usually created by those still living, weeping and mourning; the monuments capture that sense of loss and pain to be remembered for all time. Graveyards are eerie enough, but other tombs are topped off with curiously spooky and complex reminders, making the cemetery seem like it was created to be a totally creepy and morbid place. Having lost a beloved grandmother and great-grandmother this year, we can feel the pain of loss and the love that went into these grieving angel statues. Angels monuments often offer comfort to those still living, but when they too have passed on and the graves are forgotten, time and weather may play havoc on the tombstones. For Memorial Day, here’s a trip through cemeteries that seem eternally eerie by being haunted by weeping angels and other ghoulish statues standing guard for an eternity. [45 Photos]

Some cemeteries are more depressing than creepy, giving some people pause before entering the spooky scene. These foggy graves seen through the trees are marked with stone masonry, which is the most common type of headstone. Other headstones types are Masonry, Ashlar, Monumental, Rubble, Slipform, Carving and Sculpture. Photo #3 by ShotsAtRAndom

“My weeping wings. The famous Haserot Angel, located in Lakeview Cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio.” The bronze Angel of Death Victorious, commonly called the Haserot Angel, statue was created by Herman Matzen in 1923 for the Haserot family grave site. Over time, the forces of nature have acted upon the bronze to create an eerie effect of the angel weeping. As Wikipedia points out, “Since gravestones and a plot in a cemetery or churchyard cost money, they are also a symbol of wealth or prominence in a community. Some gravestones were even commissioned and erected to their own memory by people who were still living, as a testament to their wealth and status.” Photo #4 by thewoodenshoes

Seen at a California cemetery on a beloved child’s headstone: Baby in Angels wings – Sleep in Heavenly Peace. Photo #5 by D.O’Brien

“I miss you.” I’m not sure how long this intense feeling of mourning lasts, but statues such as this heartbroken angel are erected in misery to last forever. Special emblems on headstones translate into themes in many faiths such as The Angel of Grief which clearly indicates great sorrow. Photo #8 by Thomas Hawk

This shot was taken at Recoleta cementary in central Buenos Aires, Argentina. The photographer added, “I was amazed by how this statue looked…especially the overwhelming sadness it conveys.” Photo #9 by Daniel Calonge

“Visiting the Cologne Melaten Cemetery on a fine autumn day.” Luciano de Crescenzo said ~ “We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.” Photo #12 by Henning Mühlinghaus

“The angels are always near to those who are grieving, to whisper to them that their loved ones are safe in the hand of God,” ~ quoted in The Angels’ Little Instruction Book by Eileen Elias Freeman, 1994. Photo #21 by Denise O’Brien

Not everyone has such elaborate cemetery statues as they cost a small fortune, just like not everyone has an angel eternally keeping watch. The Tomb Of Thomas Sayers – “Bare Fist Fighter” in Highgate London has a hound guarding the grave. Photo #28 by Nick Garrod

“Forgotten as the stone endures forever. Highgate Cemetery in North London is full of old graves like this.” Photo #39 by James Hill

Detail of a grave at the Melaten Cemetery Cologne. “This one is highly remarkable because of it’s rich symbolism,” the photographer wrote. “I found it in Google: Dr. med Franz Leuffen is the author of a book concerning post-mortem examinations, written in the 1860s. Dr. Leuffen died in 1900.” Photo #40 by Henning Mühlinghaus